Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Three months in jail and two years probation for Charissa Bella Shuman

Charissa Bella Shuman made a false sexual assault allegation that landed a man in custody for 23 hours, of which 6 hours was spent at a hospital for an anxiety attack and chest pains.There is no mention of the second man, and whether he was taken in to custody or not.

I'm glad to see that the Judge, Jim Hunter, acknowledged the harm a false accusation can make:“The real harm here is that an innocent person may have been prosecuted,"

The good news is that it doesn't appear that the unnamed man was ever charged with anything, so at least there won't be any social stigma that attaches to him.

Add that Ms. Schuman also has received 75 hours of community service, and I think we can say that she has received a just punishment.

While I'm happy to see she has written letters of apology, I can't agree that she didn't have any "malicious" intent. You don't accuse someone of raping you out of the kindness of your heart.